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By
Compiled from wire service reports by Steven Savides and Kristen Broman-Worthington /
August 11, 2003

Not the best way to chill

Coalition forces in Iraq face many challenges, but one that doesn't get as much coverage is the searing heat that can top 120 degrees, F. in summer. Given that, British Army medical staff must have been scratching their heads, after a young lance corporal was brought in with hypothermia. Turns out his decision to nap in a walk-in freezer wasn't so shrewd after all. "The lad was a bit of a fool," a fellow soldier bluntly told the Daily Mirror. "But it's so hot here that most people kind of understand."

Looking for revival in Rio

"It's a humiliating situation," complains Marcio Freitas da Silva, of his battle to persuade bureaucrats that he does, in fact, exist. The Rio de Janeiro resident has been told he can't vote or drive because records list him as deceased. The mixup began when another man with the same name passed away in 2000. Brazil's civil registry agreed to "revive" da Silva last year, but documents have yet to surface at most government agencies.

A "new Washington establishment has undoubtedly taken hold with George W. Bush," concludes Fortune magazine in its latest survey of the capital's most influential lobbying groups. With the White House and Congress both under GOP control, the strongly Republican National Rifle Association tops this year's list. Fortune's top 10, and their respective ranks in 2002:

1. National Rifle Association of America (2)2. AARP (1)3. National Federation of Independent Business (2)4. American Israel Public Affairs Committee (4)5. Association of Trial Lawyers of America (6)6. AFL-CIO (5)7. Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America (7)8. National Beer Wholesalers Association (19)9. National Association of Realtors (15)10. National Association of Manufacturers (14)